I only used that when my daughter was about 2 years old. I told her that she must sit down without doing any other things because of her nasty behaviour. She understood it was a kind of punishment.
Now, her behaviour is acceptable so I havent' used this method for a while already.
I used naughty corner to punish my daughter since she was tw. I found that it is very effective in stopping her misbehavier. She is now 4. when i asked her to do so, she would refuse. But you must insist and repeat it when necessary. By the time, she will know what is acceptable and what is unacceptable. Keep going.